#28: Mythmakers, Friendship, and the Holy Work of Making Things with John Hendrix | Ruck The Way

#28: Mythmakers, Friendship, and the Holy Work of Making Things with John Hendrix | Ruck The Way

UPCOMING PILGRIMAGE: https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage [https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage] Amazon link to John’s author page: US: https://www.amazon.com/stores/John-Hendrix/author/B002YTBY0A [https://www.amazon.com/stores/John-Hendrix/author/B002YTBY0A]? UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B002YTBY0A [https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B002YTBY0A] Some conversations feel like they happen on the trail, even when everyone is sitting still. This one did. We sat down with John Hendrix, New York Times awarded author and illustrator, professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and the creator of The Mythmakers, a graphic novel about the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. What started as a talk about books became a conversation about friendship, fellowship, failure, and the strange grace of being made to create. John reminds us that the Inklings did not know they were the Inklings. They were just friends writing stories for one another, and in doing so they reshaped literature almost by accident. He shows us why myth is not a lie but a truth beyond the facts, why every honest creative act has to pass through the pit of despair, and why the way we spend our days really is the way we spend our lives. If something creative has gone dormant in you, this one might wake it back up. Chris said as much before we even stopped recording. Let the walk do the work. Timestamps 00:00 Meeting John. St. Louis roots, a day in Edinburgh, and the wider world of the Inklings 07:00 The Mythmakers and a friendship that came up in our episode on the F word, fellowship 08:30 Why everything John makes is art first, and the subject comes second 10:30 The superpower of the graphic novel, bending time and the "third thing" that belongs only to the reader 16:00 Writing a myth about the Inklings, and why the ending could not stop at their deaths 19:00 Friendship versus fellowship, a shared destination, and why male friendship gets harder as we age 23:30 What working with other people's stories teaches you about your own 28:30 Made to create. The calling that is not always your career 31:00 If everyone kept a sketchbook, the world would be a better place 34:00 Make more than you consume, and giving your work the best part of your day 37:00 Path-dependent creativity. You do not know the destination until you walk toward it 44:00 The Pit of Despair, and why this is a human phenomenon, not just an artist's one 48:00 A bad liturgy, and remembering that God does not need any of it. It is all a gift 51:00 Chris picks up his brushes again 53:30 Art is not art until it is shared. Make it, then send it to someone

#27: Living in the Moment, Measuring in the Decade

UPCOMING PILGRIMAGE: https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage [https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage] In this profound episode of the Ruck the Way Podcast, hosts Chris and Gabe dive deep into how we evaluate our personal growth and spiritual maturity. Drawing from Morgan Snyder's book, Becoming a King, they challenge the modern urge to measure progress by daily increments, which often breeds self-criticism, impatience, and discouragement. Gabe shares vulnerable insights from his personal health journey and the realization that short-term charts often obscure long-term transformation. Together, they explore the concept of "living in the moment, measuring in the decade," demonstrating how looking backward over a ten-year horizon reveals deep emotional and narrative healing that daily check-ins completely miss. Shifting from frantic performance to micro-steps of awareness, this conversation offers a spacious, compassionate framework for anyone navigating midlife transitions, identity development, and the long, slow road of becoming who God called them to be. Know more about our cause: https://www.rucktheway.com/ [https://www.rucktheway.com/] Subscribe to our Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@RucktheWay [https://www.youtube.com/@RucktheWay] Meet the founders: https://www.rucktheway.com/about [https://www.rucktheway.com/about]

#26: We are glad to meet all of you! | Ruck The Way Launch

NOTE: This episode is best appreciated on YouTube https://youtu.be/r4rpTLc2xkg [https://youtu.be/r4rpTLc2xkg] UPCOMING PILGRIMAGE: https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage [https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage] In this special official launch event recorded live at the Cove Trail in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ruck the Way founders Gabe and Chris introduce a gathering of pilgrims to the transformative power of a "walk with a purpose." Gabe shares how his background as an army infantry soldier seamlessly merged with the ancient Christian practice of pilgrimage, leading to the birth of this unique ministry. Chris explains the fascinating neuroscience behind how walking heals the brain and soul through left-right movement. Together, they guide the group through a mini-pilgrimage tracking the journey from a desolate, dried-up cove to a flowing stream of living water. The episode culminates in a powerful symbolic ritual where participants place "burden stones" onto a flat rock to build a traditional cairn, choosing to release their heavy loads to God. Know more about our cause: https://www.rucktheway.com/ [https://www.rucktheway.com/] Subscribe to our Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@RucktheWay [https://www.youtube.com/@RucktheWay] Meet the founders: https://www.rucktheway.com/about [https://www.rucktheway.com/about] Upbeat Song credit information: Near You (Kite Flight) Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kite-flight/near-you [https://uppbeat.io/t/kite-flight/near-you] License code: RMGGMTRY6LO2UFNU Road to the Sun (Vens Adams) Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/vens-adams/road-to-the-sun [https://uppbeat.io/t/vens-adams/road-to-the-sun] License code: H3SYP7298LFHTJNE

#25: The Three Mile an Hour Life: Embracing the Pace of Eternity

UPCOMING PILGRIMAGE: https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage [https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage] https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.rucktheway.com/pilgrimage At what pace are you living your life? We hit the trails together for the first time in a year to unpack the profound concept of "the three mile an hour life." We dive into the internal and external forces that pressure modern men to sprint life, confronting the underlying currents of shame, comparison, and the fear of running out of time before retirement. From practical daily boundaries like keeping phones out of the bedroom to the intentional practice of benevolent detachment, this conversation serves as an invitation to realign your daily rhythm with the sustainable, relationally rich pace modeled by Jesus. Learn more about us: https://www.rucktheway.com/ [https://www.rucktheway.com/] Subscribe to our Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@RucktheWay [https://www.youtube.com/@RucktheWay] Meet the founders: https://www.rucktheway.com/about [https://www.rucktheway.com/about]

#24: The F Word: Why Friendship Is So Hard for Men

Walk With Us This whole conversation is the why behind Ruck the Way. We started this because we believe friendship doesn't grow at desk-speed or scroll-speed—it grows at three miles an hour, on a trail, with a pack on your back and someone walking beside you. Join a Pilgrimage: New dates dropping soon. → rucktheway.com/pilgrimage [http://rucktheway.com/pilgrimage] Subscribe to the Podcast: Wherever you listen, hit follow so you don't miss what's next. → rucktheway.com/podcast [http://rucktheway.com/podcast] Get the Newsletter: Slower than a feed. Better for your soul. → rucktheway.com/newsletter-signup [http://rucktheway.com/newsletter-signup] Support the Mission: Ruck the Way is a project of East Mountain Greenville. All gifts are tax-deductible. → Give Now Reach Out: Got a story, a question, or someone we should have on the show? → rucktheway.com/contact [http://rucktheway.com/contact] Friendship sounds like it should be the easy part of being human. It's not. In this conversation, Gabe and Chris pull up a chair next to one of the most painful, elusive, and unspoken realities men carry in their rucksacks: the longing for real friendship—and the disappointment when it doesn't come, or when it fades, or when it breaks. From the Facebookization of "friend" to the cutting-room-floor lives we hide behind curated highlight reels, from the gated country-club neighborhoods of Charlotte to the caste-stratified high schools of the UK, the guys name why building real friendship as a grown man is so much harder than it should be. They borrow from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (whose own legendary friendship broke down in their later years), they lean on Lewis's The Four Loves, and they pull from John Hendrix's beautiful graphic novel The Mythmakers to show that even the giants of the faith struggled with this. Then they get practical. Three rails to run on if you're lonely, longing, or just stuck: side-by-side, vulnerability, and invitation. This isn't a how-to. It's gardening. You can't force a tomato to grow—but you can cultivate the soil. If you've ever sat with the quiet ache of I don't really have any friends right now, this one's for you. You're not alone. And there's nothing wrong with you. Mentioned in This Episode The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix — the graphic novel Chris references throughout The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis — especially the chapter on philia, brotherly love The Inklings, the Eagle and Child pub (a.k.a. "the Bird and Baby") in Oxford The Lord of the Rings & Lewis's secret 1961 Nobel Prize nomination of Tolkien